Who would have thought picking up a hire car could be such a marathon? Isaac and I spent an hour on to buses to get to the airport where the Hertz 'down town office is located. Then we discovered that our navigation aps didn't work and we got lost for ages until we finally followed a bus using our bus map to get us to the apartment. Needless to say, the combination of driving on the wrong side of the road in a foreign city, with narrow streets, and getting lost made for a stressful morning. And the girls waiting for us at the apartment were getting more than a little worried.
Finally we got out of Brussels and to Ypres safely, thanks to Isaac's bright idea to download and screenshot Google directions. Thanks Isaac.
'In Flanders' Fields museum was excellent. Dad's comprehensive introduction to the history subtlest of world war history certainly helped - 'Which word war came first - WW1 or WW2?' But the museum's telling of the story of the war through in Ypres through all sorts of multimedia and artefacts was very effective. Many meaningful discussions were had. We were particularly struck by the Christmas day 'truce'. We also met the grandson of a British man killed in the third battle of Ypres - the same battle Danielle's great uncle fought in and was decorated for bravery in.
This slice of a tree is hundreds of yesrs old, and shows the effects of the shelling from the war.
Looking for supplies we came across this appetising and nutritious meal - but decided against it.
Beautiful buildings and Christmas lights at night.
Every night since 1927 the last post has been played at the Menin Gate, built to honour the Commonwealth soldiers who died around Ypres and whose bodies were never found - 55 000 of them. We found the name of HT Travis from Kurrajong - recorded on the memorial in our church.
Hundreds had come for the playing o the last post - the ceremony was very moving.
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